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How many Negroes does one see in this painting - Part 2?

Submitted by afrocentric on Sun, 20/11/2016 - 23:52

It has been a long time, getting on to 3 years and I apologize for that, but here is the answer and the pic to go with it.

There are three negroes in the painting. The groom handling the horse is one, and the other two are in Queen Anne's dress. I know it looks farfetched, but us Afrocentrics have a way of seeing images and signs of black people in all kinds of scenes, just as Christians and Muslims have a habit of seeing images of Jesus and Islamic inscriptions in all kinds of scenes.

As you can see there are two men in her, one in profile and looking rather like Michael Essien and the second one looking forwards and smiling. These paintings being hand-drawn I don't think that they are a trick of light. The painter put them there deliberately. Remember that there are two other variations of this painting and they don't display these patterns.

So what could be meaning of these images? For that we have to go to kdolo, of Egyptsearch infamy, who came up with some interesting reasons for these images. Before you respond on how implausible it all seems remember we are unabashed and unapologetic Afrocentrics.

Responses from kdolo

response 1

Mike,

the "Negroes in the Dress" thing i admit is a bit loony at first hearing it .....

but no more so than many of your theories upon first hearing it.

A reasonable person can see two "Negroe - like" faces or impression of faces in the Skirt... one facing left and the other facing right ...
- Lips, Hair, and Prognathism.

my only question is that purely coincidental, and error in the post/reprint , etc...

Speculating here of course, but there are 3 Negroes then plus Anne in the painting.

The page = son Charles(later to be Charles I)

The two in the dress = son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales who died in 1612 and Robert, Duke of Kintyre who dies at age 4 months in 1602.

The painting was made in 1617. After deaths of both Henry and Robert, but while Charles would have been 17 years old ...( like the page ?)

The "Negroes in the Dress" are references to the dead sons .... "ghosts"/appartions"

response 2

Ok Mike, I will try...

1. The fundamental question is: Are the images/folds/ in the dress Negroes ??

Mike, you said that if Hapsburg could find at least one other person who agreed, that you would not consider him insane. I am at least one other person. Reasonable people could agree on at least this: the images appear to have similarities to representations of Negroes or could be said to be or mistaken to be two heads or Negroe head like...at least.

If it is true that the images "could" be taken for Negroes or Negroe-like, we must then proceed to the next logical inquiry.

2. Are the images intentional or incidental/accidental/coincidental ?

Hapsburg makes a good argument. These paintings are super high priced luxury items of the highest material, symbolic, and propaganda value made by experts for highest of elites.
Whatever intentionally appears in them typically is there for either aesthetic value and/or symbolic-propaganda value. We already concur that at least some semi reasonable minds could see Negroes; the artist is clearly familiar with Negroes (Charles), therefore it is likely that they are there intentionally.

However, let us examine the counter. That the images are incidental,coincidental. If so, then the artist never noticed them or never noticed them as being potentially Negroid heads.,They are just folds and brush strokes. If so, our inquiry ends here and you are right.

So, although both interpretations are sound, we agree that Hapsburg's is at least reasonable. If so, then we are allowed to proceed to the third inquiry.

3. The Negroe-Negroe-like heads being intentionally put in the painting, What is the asteathic-symbolic-propaganda value of showing Negroes in such a way ??

We all agree the the Negro page is probably Charles - Anne is pictured with her Black Son. So, we know for a fact that Negroes are used for aesthetic-symbolic-propaganda value - lineage etc.

That being said a fourth inquiry has to be made:

4. Being that she is intentionally shown with Negro Charles, if she is shown with other negroes - particularly on her dress ( a rather intimate space) - whom might those Negroes be ?
They would have to be representations of someone/s very intimate...like Charles.

In order to try to answer the question I had to learn a little bit more about Anne. ( I used Wiki - sorry !). I learned that Anne gave birth to three sons by James. So far then, her known male intimates can only be: a. James b. Charles - son c. Henry-son d. Robert-son.

We can eliminate James. Being the king, any representation of him would be major - even symbolically (a sceptre. throne, sun, crown, etc..).

So we proceed. Charles is the young page.
Therefore if there are in fact two images of Negroes - especially in and near her intimate space, they must be similar to Charles, the Negro she birthed..i.e. literally coming out from under her skirts. The two then are references to deceased Henry and Robert.

I imagine that it would have been impolitic, rude, or maybe even treasonous, to openly refer to deceased princes...therefore the artist does it subtly...they appear like apparitions/ghosts maybe...

The painting is of Anne and the three royal Negroes she birthed....of which at the time of the painting only one was alive: 17 year old Charles.

(and yes i readily admit it could be nothing at all - that too is reasonable)